Friday, April 22, 2011

Donor MINI

In a crazy move to harness the torque monster that lives within an electric motor, CravenSpeed has decided to build performance machine out of a 2002 MINI Cooper S. If she were still stock, Natasha (my MINI), would make about 160hp @ 4500 rpm, 0 to 60 in about 7 seconds, and handle like a dream. It’s hard to compare gas-powered vehicles to their electric counterparts for various reasons, and I am learning this stuff from the build team as I go, but here is how they sold me on donating her to science;

Since this is our first shot at an electric conversion, we’re going to try and stay within a reasonable set of boundaries. Looking at the comparison chart, it hardly seems worth it for a gain of 1 second on the 0 to 60 time and a sacrifice of 190 miles of range. But, since it is starting to cost $60 to fill her tiny tank with premium already, I am willing to bet that it might make some economical sense, eventually. For now, what I know for certain is that it is a crazy move that will give us a very unique MINI. (Before you remind me that BMW already made an electric MINI, I will point out that I do not live in LA or New York and I would like to keep this one instead of paying $900 a month to borrow it from them.)